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Podcasts Take Two
Dirt — California's secret weapon against climate change
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Jun 1, 2017
Listen • 6:32
Dirt — California's secret weapon against climate change
Can the state use our farmlands to get carbon out of the air and get it into our soil where is can do some good? That's the hope behind the Healthy Soil Initiative.
HOLTVILLE, CA - OCTOBER 08: Mexican agricultural workers cultivate romaine lettuce on a farm on October 8, 2013 in Holtville, California. Thousands of Mexican workers cross the border legally each night from Mexicali, Mexico into Calexico, CA, where they pick up work as agricultural day laborers in California's fertile Imperial Valley. Although the Imperial Valley, irrigated from water diverted from the Colorado River, is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the United States, it has one of the highest unemployment rates in California, at more than 25 percent. Mexican farm workers commute each day from Mexicali to work in the fields for about $9 an hour, which many local U.S. residents shun as too low pay. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
HOLTVILLE, CA - OCTOBER 08: Mexican agricultural workers cultivate romaine lettuce on a farm on October 8, 2013 in Holtville, California. Thousands of Mexican workers cross the border legally each night from Mexicali, Mexico into Calexico, CA, where they pick up work as agricultural day laborers in California's fertile Imperial Valley. Although the Imperial Valley, irrigated from water diverted from the Colorado River, is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the United States, it has one of the highest unemployment rates in California, at more than 25 percent. Mexican farm workers commute each day from Mexicali to work in the fields for about $9 an hour, which many local U.S. residents shun as too low pay. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
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John Moore/Getty Images
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Can the state use our farmlands to get carbon out of the air and get it into our soil where is can do some good? That's the hope behind the Healthy Soil Initiative.

While the country waits for President Trump's decision on the Paris Climate Agreement, California is taking a proactive approach. In fact, it's doubling down on its environmental goals.

Yesterday, the state senate passed SB 100, a bill that would move the state to 100 percent clean and renewable energy by 2045.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0gI45aF5y8

Now, California is ready to seize one more opportunity — the soil that supports our thriving farming industry.

While carbon in the air is bad for the environment, it's actually really good for dirt — especially if you want to grow stuff in it.

Can the state use our farmlands to get some of that carbon out of the air, and get it into our soil where is can do some good?

That's the hope behind the Healthy Soil Initiative — a new program that uses Central Valley's farming soil to curb carbon emissions.

Take Two's A Martinez spoke with Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which is spearheading the program. 

Interview Highlight

The science of sequestering carbon in soil



 The science is the photosynthesis process which is what plants d0 - taking sun and water, and atmospheric carbon dioxide - absorbing that, turning that into sugar to grow the plant and the crop. And what's not used for that plant growth goes into the root system. And then, it's converted to carbon in the soil.



There's lots of microorganisms all beneath our feet. A lot of the world's biodiversity is in our soil. And we're feeding it. So, we're giving it the nutrients so that it stabilizes that carbon. And we sequester that carbon which is another is another way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.    

Getting the agricultural industry on board



There's a lot of farmers are doing pieces of this because they know that taking care of their soil will help them produce better crops, better yields. 



What we want to do is help package a menu of options to advance these practices. So it can be things like increasing the use of compost, planting more cover crops, reduced tillage so we're keeping a cover on that soil throughout the year, and intensive rotational grazing practices.  

Quote edited for clarity. 

To hear the full interview with Karen Ross, click on the blue Media Player above.